Different This Time
by pdlbean
Summary: Formerly a one-shot, now a mutli-chapter fic taking place after the season six finale.
1. Chapter 1

"I don't want to be an obligation," Brennan announced out of the blue as Booth drove her home. The drive so far had been silent, neither quite sure what they should say to the other. Booth glanced at her with his eyebrows knit together.

"What?" Brennan took a deep breath and repeated herself.

"I don't want to be an obligation. I will not be in a relationship that only exists out of a sense of duty. I can do this by myself. You will always be part of this child's life but…" Tears began welling in her eyes and Booth immediately pulled over.

"Bones… Bones, look at me," Booth demanded gently. She did, blinking back the tears desperately. "Do you not want this? Us? I thought…. I thought since we've been sleeping together for the last month that we were, you know, 'official' now." Brennan didn't answer right away and Booth ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Okay, Bones, here's the deal. We need to stop this dancing around the subject, teenager crap, okay? We're going to be having a _baby_." His stomach flipped as he voiced the words for the first time. Him and Bones. A baby. He wondered how long it would take before the news really sunk in. Probably until their kid's graduation. "Starting right now, we say how we feel. No more avoiding talking about this. We're going to be responsible for another human being in a few months. We owe it to our kid to have our act together." Brennan nodded and wiped an errant tear away.

"I'm sorry," she told him with a small smile. Booth returned it and took her hand in his.

"I'll go first, okay?" Brennan chuckled lightly and he squeezed her hand a little tighter. "You are _not_ an obligation. I love you. We both know we wanted this, we both knew we were going to get here soon. Maybe it's not the way we planned it, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I always wanted this to work. Baby or no baby." Brennan smiled.

"I knew that," she admitted. "I just… I didn't want to trap you in something you didn't really want."

"Bones, I've never wanted anything more than to be with you. To have a family with you. Sure, we're sort of doing it all at once, but since when do we do things by the book?" Brennan laughed and he smiled to see her face light up. "It'll work. We've invested too much in this and been through too much together to fail. It'll be hard, sure. But we'll get through it. Together." Brennan hesitated a moment before speaking again.

"Since we're being honest with each other, I'd like to ask you a question."

"Shoot."

"What do you expect out of this relationship?" She didn't have to say anything more. Booth knew exactly what she was asking. He leaned back on his headrest and sighed.

"I'm starting to hate my own rule."

"You want to get married," Brennan deduced.

"Yeah," he confirmed, looking back over at her. "I do. Not because it's all or nothing or anything like that. But… I've been through this before, you know? Rebecca just takes Parker whenever she pleases, and I can't do a damn thing about it. I'm not planning on breaking up, but if we ever did… I just don't want to be a weekend father again. Plus… I'd want to marry you anyway." He grinned sheepishly.

"Booth, you know how I feel about marriage. There are legal papers we could sign that would give you full paternal rights regardless of our relationship. If we ever separated, you would be legally protected. I would never want to rob this child of the opportunity to spend as much time as possible with its wonderful father." Booth grinned at her assessment of him as a 'wonderful father.' "I will do anything to ensure your peace of mind regarding the baby. And I certainly want to be with you. But I don't know if I want to marry you." Booth saw the guilt written all over her face and rushed to reassure her.

"Hey, this isn't a proposal, okay? And I'm not leaving just because you don't want to get married. This is different than Rebecca. Than Hannah. I want to be with you, in any way I can. Just… just think about it, alright?"

"I will," Brennan promised with a smile that Booth returned.

"Come on, let's go back to my place. It's getting late and you must be exhausted. It's been a long day. We can talk more about this in the morning." Booth restarted the engine and drove off, feeling nothing short of invincible.


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, this was just going to be a one-shot, but so many people alerted that I decided to write more! So this'll be a full multi-chapter story now. There'll be some angst down the line for sure, but for now I'm just going to let them enjoy their happy news. Thanks for alerting and reviewing and all that good stuff!**

Booth looked over at Brennan's sleeping form. He marveled at how easily she fell asleep. Her head had barely hit the pillow, and she was out like a light. He didn't think he'd be sleeping for a week, with all the thoughts currently running through his head. They had slept in the same bed like this ten times now, since their first night together after Vincent's death. Booth thought he would never get tired of watching her sleep. He smiled as her hand shifted unconsciously to her stomach. His baby was in there. The thought filled him with a pure joy he had never, ever experienced before. Of course, they still had a lot to talk about. They were barely a couple at this point. They certainly never had a discussion about what they were. It was something they would have to figure out damn soon. But for now, he was content just watching her.

He shifted himself down, being careful not to disturb her, so his head was positioned next to the hand that rested on her abdomen. "Daddy loves you," he whispered softly to the child he knew couldn't hear him yet. "You're so lucky, baby. You're gonna have the best mommy in the whole world. And your old man isn't half bad either." He chuckled softly. His first instinct was to kiss her belly, but he didn't want to wake her. A moment later Brennan stirred. He quickly scooted back up so he was lying on his pillow.

"Booth?" she said groggily as she turned toward him. "Were you talking to the embryo?" There was a jokey lightness to her voice and Booth laughed.

"Maybe I was," he teased. "What are you gonna do about it?"

"It's ridiculous to talk to the baby now, Booth," Brennan pointed out. "It won't be able to hear for several months."

"I know. I just… I can't believe it. We're going to be parents together. This baby will be a little of you and a little of me. We'll raise it together and love it together. It's like a dream, Bones."

"I find that the thought excites me as well," she admitted.

"It's… It's everything. I never…" Booth realized that tears were threatening to spill from his eyes. He cleared his throat and tried again. "I never thought this would happen. From the day we met I knew we were something amazing. I've always loved you, Bones. And I always will. I want to make sure you know that."

"I do." And she did. She had never been so sure of anything in her life. "I can't tell you for certain when it first occurred, and 'always' is inaccurate word use, since I've known you for less than a third of my life, and I can't guarantee how I will feel about you in the future, but I can tell you that right now I love you more than I've ever thought I was capable of loving anyone." Booth laughed out loud. That response was so qualified and so rational and so _Bones. _And it made him happier than any other words he'd heard in his life. He kisses her, sweet and tenderly. When they separated, both their eyes were shining and they just knew that this was a good thing, and they were going to be happy. No matter what.

"You should get some sleep," Booth suggested a moment later. Brennan yawned almost theatrically and nodded in agreement. To Booth's delight, she snuggled close to him and draped her arm over his chest. He kissed her on the head and rested his chin on the place he kissed. He traced lazy circles on her back until he felt her breath even out. With one last kiss on her head, he allowed his eyes to close and drifted off…

_"Daddy, watch me!" A little girl with her mother's light brown hair and his dark eyes shouted across the pool._

_"I'm watching, Princess," he promised from his perch on the side of the pool, his feet dangling in the water. The girl pinched her nose with her fingers and jumped into the pool. She swam over to the teenage boy who was treading water a few feet from her._

_"Did you see, Parker? Did you see?" she asked her brother excitedly._

_"I saw," Parker promised with a smile. Booth grinned as he watched his children play together and looked up when he heard Bones approaching. She smiled and took a seat beside him, dipping her feet into the cool water. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed contentedly. He took her hand in his, noting the two bands that rested on her left ring finger. He looked at his own hand and was thrilled to see a simple band of gold sitting there._

_"Marco!" he heard his son shout._

_"Polo!" his giggling daughter answered as she frantically splashed away from her brother's searching arm._

_"I love you," Brennan whispered in his ear before giving him a lingering kiss on the temple. Booth grinned and looked at the three most important people in his life in turn. He couldn't imagine a more perfect moment than this…_

The alarm sounded the next morning, rousing Booth from his peaceful sleep. He reached over and silenced it with an unceremonious smack. He looked over at Brennan. She was still sleeping soundly, a smile gracing her lips. He wondered if whatever she was dreaming was as good as what he had dreamed.

**Okay, I think that's all for now. Let me know what you think and keep your eye out for more!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow! I'm overwhelmed by the HUGE amount of alerts and favorites I'm getting! Thank you all so much! Enjoy the next chapter. :D**

Two weeks had passed since then and the news was finally starting to become real to both of them. They had decided to wait to tell their friends and respective bosses about both the baby and their new romantic relationship. The possibility of being separated professionally was never discussed. It quickly became the elephant in the room and the two of them did anything to sidestep the discussion. Right now, they were driving toward the Hoover to interrogate a suspect. "Booth?" Brennan called to get his attention. Booth mumbled a 'hm?' to let her know he was listening. "Are you going to ask me to marry you?" Booth glanced over at her with a wide-eyed expression.

"Not today," he joked lightly before refocusing on the road in front of him.

"But you will eventually?" Booth shrugged, not taking his eyes off the road this time.

"Maybe," he admitted. "When I think it's time." Brennan hesitated a moment before speaking again.

"What will you do if I say no?" she asked apprehensively. This time Booth did look at her and offered a reassuring smile.

"Then we'll keep doing what we're doing," he promised.

"But whenever you proposed to other women and they said no, your relationship ended. Why would it be different with me?"

"Because…" He searched for a better way to say this, but realized there was nothing more honest than the next sentence to come out of his mouth. "Because you're Bones." Brennan rolled her eyes at him and he laughed.

"I'm serious, Booth. Are you certain you wouldn't be staying with me because of the baby?" Booth sighed in exasperation. It was her number one fear, and while he tried to respect that she had insecurities, he got tired of having the same argument every single day.

"You know, Bones, when you say things like that it kind of sounds like you don't believe that I love you."

"I do," Brennan promised emphatically.

"Do you?" The words were out before he could stop them, and he instantly regretted it when he saw the look on his partner's face. "Remember, Rebecca and I broke up while she was pregnant with Parker," he offered hopefully and suddenly realized that was a rather odd way to prove his point. "Look, Bones, I get that you don't want to be an obligation. But I don't know what else to say except you're not. I wouldn't do that to you, okay? I don't know what else I'm supposed to do to get you to believe me."

"I believe you, I do," Brennan promised. "It's just… it's hard to explain. I'm happy, I honestly am, and I really need you to be happy too."

"I'm happy, Bones. I'm ecstatic. I'm in love with you and you're having my baby. Nothing in the world could ever make me happier."

"You say that now," Brennan pointed out, "but things are bound to be difficult. We've only been in a relationship for a month and a half. That's hardly enough time to make an informed decision about spending the rest of your life with someone. Our feelings for each other could easily change."

"Bones, we've been partners for six years. You know more about me than I do most of the time. And I know it's the same the other way around. I've been falling in love with you for seven years. We're ready for this. We are. I can't imagine that there's something big about you that I don't already know. We're going to be fine."

"But if we're not…" Booth sighed and Brennan gave him a stern look. "Booth, you can't pretend it isn't a possibility. Relationships that have lasted for decades end all the time. I'm sure most of those people knew everything about their partner and they still failed."

"We aren't going to fail. This is different, Bones. We're different." Booth's tone was determined and Brennan knew she should drop the subject before he became angry with her.

"Just promise me that if one day you find that you're no longer in love with me that you won't stay simply out of an obligation to the baby." Booth gave her a sideways irritated glance.

"Bones…" he warned softly.

"Promise me," Brennan insisted. Booth paused a moment then nodded slowly.

"Yeah. Okay. I promise." Brennan smiled in satisfaction. "But you know what else I promise?" Booth added. "I promise that I'll never have to keep that promise." Brennan gave him a crooked smile and Booth shook his head in disbelief. It was the first time a girlfriend had made him promise to leave her, but because this was Temperance Brennan, he wasn't exactly all that surprised.

**I kind of like these shorter chapters for these. It seems to work better. But tell me what you think! Is this length good? Should they be longer? Tell me what you thought of the chapter in general too! Thank you again for all your reviews, alerts, and favorites so far!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I continue to be amazed at the wonderful response I'm getting to this story! Thank you all for reading, and enjoy the next chapter!**

"Hey, Bones!" Booth shouted as he approached Brennan in the book aisle of the store. "I got the stuff on the list!"

"And some other things that weren't on the list, I see," Brennan teased, glancing at the cart. "What are those?" she asked, gesturing to a pair of rainbow striped socks.

"Oh come on, Bones! You can't say these aren't the best!" he exclaimed and took the impossibly tiny socks out of the cart. He held them up with a bright expression. "Little socks for the baby that match Daddy's!" Brennan rolled her eyes.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to become a sentimental fool." She smirked. "It's far too early to be buying things for the baby. I'm only seven weeks pregnant."

"It's never too early!" Booth defended, putting the socks back in their place next to the gallon of milk. "So, what are you looking at?"

"I'm looking for pregnancy and parenting books," Brennan answered, not taking her eyes off the shelf in front of her. "We may have to go to a book store for a wider selection." She was already grabbing three books off the shelf to read their back covers.

"You don't need any parenting books, Bones," Booth told her. She glanced up at him with a confused expression.

"I want to be prepared. My doctor has discussed proper prenatal care with me, but there are bound to be multiple perspectives on the subject. This is quite possibly the most important thing I will ever do. I want to do it correctly." Brennan blushed slightly at her own admission and Booth smiled warmly.

"I'm glad to hear it, Baby, and pregnancy books are great…"

"Don't call me Baby," Brennan retorted automatically, cutting him off. "And you just said I didn't need pregnancy books."

"No, I said you didn't need _parenting _books," Booth corrected her. "Pregnancy is right up your alley. You can read a few books and know everything you need to about it. Parenting is different. You can't just learn it from a book, Bones."

"Thousands of books have been written on parenting, Booth. Many of them sell millions of copies. I'm sure there must be some truth to them if they're so popular."

"Believe me, Bones. There are some things you just can't master from reading about them. You have to experience it. And how to be a parent is definitely one of those things." Brennan sighed and put her books in the cart anyway.

"I'm buying them." Booth chuckled and shrugged.

"Okay, but don't get mad when the baby doesn't follow the rules your little books lay out." Brennan was about to respond when she spotted someone she recognized out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh no." Booth wrinkled his brow and followed her gaze. His eyes widened when he saw Hodgins and Angela making a bee line for them. "Come on," Brennan urged him and grabbed his arm. Booth shook his head.

"They already saw us."

"Hey you two!" Angela greeted, pushing a cart that held Michael in his baby carrier. Booth and Brennan each forced a smile.

"Wow, this guy gets bigger every day!" Booth said and looked at the sleeping baby, trying to detract attention from the items in their cart.

"Tell me about it," Hodgins agreed with a laugh. "At this rate he's gonna be taller than me in a month."

"You look great, Angela," Brennan complimented her friend.

"Thanks, Bren. I feel great. I mean besides the fact that I haven't slept in three weeks and feel like a zombie all the time." The baby gurgled and opened his eyes. Angela beamed at her tiny son. "Looks like someone wants to say hi!" Brennan grinned and peered into the baby carrier. Michael's little eyes seemed to focus on her and she felt her heartbeat quicken slightly.

"Do you… do you mind if I hold him?" she asked tentatively.

"Of course we don't mind!" Angela answered and carefully lifted Michael from his seat. She handed him to Brennan, who took him with cautious arms. After getting over her initial nervousness of holding something so small and fragile, Brennan smiled down at the content baby in her arms.

"You're great with him, Dr. B," Hodgins complimented with a grin. Brennan locked eyes with Booth and her breath hitched at the absolute adoration she found in his face. Her concentration was broken, however, when she saw Angela staring at the contents of their cart.

"What… What's that?" she asked, taking the books out and reading the titles again to be sure she hadn't imagined it. "'Your Pregnancy Week By Week', 'The Essential Nutrition Guide for Mothers-to-be', 'Parenting With Love and Logic.'" Angela lowered the books and looked between Brennan and Booth with a slack-jawed expression. Hodgins was wearing an almost identical look. "Sweetie… you're not…" Brennan swallowed hard and looked to Booth for reassurance. He shrugged.

"I guess it's out now," he said with a beaming smile that Brennan couldn't help but return.

"I… I found out I was pregnant the day before Michael was born." Angela and Hodgins just continued to stare at the two of them in absolute shock.

"I… Um…" Hodgins stammered. "Congratulations you guys!" He offered Booth a handshake which he took with enthusiasm. He then hugged Brennan close, being careful not to disturb Michael.

"How did you know Booth was the father?" Brennan couldn't help but ask. "Angela is the only one who knew we were in a relationship."

"Oh please," Angela answered for her husband. "You know there's no way I could keep it a secret. I had to tell _someone_." She shook her head in disbelief. "You two drag your feet for seven years and suddenly it's full speed ahead." Michael started to fuss and Brennan quickly passed him off to his mother.

"You can't tell anyone about this," Brennan told them both seriously. "_No one_, Angela. We aren't prepared to make an announcement yet. And that goes for our personal relationship as well."

"Got it, Sweetie," Angela promised. "My lips are sealed." Brennan eyed her friend skeptically, but dropped the subject.

"Well, we should be going," Brennan said to break the endless silence. "We have some paperwork we need to go over. Right, Booth?"

"Uh, right," Booth agreed. "See you guys later." With that, Brennan took Booth's arm and led him away from their friends, who were left standing in stunned silence wondering what exactly had just happened.

**This one is just a little longer than the previous ones, and I hope you liked it! As always, tell me what you thought!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you as always for the lovely reviews, alerts, and favorites! Let's get right to it, shall we?**

"Bones!" Booth hollered, waltzing into Brennan's office with a spring in his step. "Come on, we're gonna be late!" Their first doctor's appointment was today and he didn't want to be a second late. Brennan had told him that it might be possible to hear the heartbeat on the Doppler this week, and he wouldn't miss that for the world.

His brain registered that Brennan wasn't sitting at her desk and he surveyed the rest of the office for her. A small smile crept across his lips as his eyes landed on her. She was lying on the couch with a file in hand, fast asleep. He tip-toed up to the couch and kneeled beside her. "Hey. Sleepy head," he whispered and planted a kiss to her forehead. She stirred and opened her eyes.

"I wasn't asleep," she insisted through a yawn.

"Yeah, I can see that," Booth teased. He smoothed his hand over her hair tenderly. "How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted. Nauseas. You know I couldn't examine the remains this morning? The scent of the disinfectant we use on the platform alone made me want to regurgitate." She groaned and sat up.

"You'll feel better in a few weeks," he promised. "You're already eight weeks along! It's flying by, right?" Brennan glared at him and stood up. "Come on, let's go take a look at our little bun in the oven!" Booth rubbed Brennan's belly affectionately, a gesture she had grown used to and even begun to enjoy over the last few weeks.

"There won't be much to see, Booth. The baby is less than half an inch long and has no distinguishing features."

"But you said we could hear the heartbeat today, right?" Booth questioned hopefully. Brennan nodded.

"It's possible. Although some can't discern the heartbeat until nine or ten weeks gestation. If we don't hear it today it's nothing to worry about." Booth beamed and threw his arm over Brennan's shoulder as they walked.

"You've really been paying attention to those pregnancy books, huh?"

"Yes," Brennan admitted without hesitation. "I told you before, Booth. I want to do this correctly. Our child deserves the best that we can give it. And the best thing I can do for it right now is to make sure I have a safe and successful pregnancy." Brennan stopped walking and wrinkled her brow at the odd expression Booth was giving her. "What?"

"Nothing," he feigned innocence. "Just… you're gonna be a good mom. That's all." Brennan blushed.

"I'm not always so certain about that," she admitted. "I don't have any experience with infants. The baby won't be able to tell me what it needs. I'll have to just… know. You know I have poor intuition, Booth. What if… What if I won't be able to tell what our baby needs?"

"Hey, you'll know," Booth promised emphatically. "You will. You'll see, the second you hold that little baby in your arms all the mommy instincts are gonna kick in. And before you know it, you'll be telling _me _whether the baby's hungry or needs a change."

"You really think so?" Brennan shifted her weight from foot to foot nervously and Booth gave her a reassuring smile.

"I know so." Brennan sighed and hugged him tightly. He reciprocated and rubbed her back comfortingly. "I know you're nervous. Hell, I'm scared to death. But we're in this together, right?" He felt Brennan nod against his chest. "We'll be great parents. We're already great partners. And after all, 'parents' is just 'partners' with the letters mixed up and an 'R' missing." Brennan laughed and leaned back to look at him.

"We're going to be late," she told him through her bright smile.

"Right!" he agreed. He kissed her quickly on the lips and led her to the car. Before they knew it, they were in an examination room looking at a fuzzy ultrasound of their little one.

"There's your baby," the technician said, pointing to a small dot on the screen. Booth grabbed Brennan's hand and squeezed. Their eyes never left the screen as the tech continued to talk. "The ultrasound and exam both look fine. You're right on schedule. Now we're going to see if we can hear your baby's heart. It's normal not to hear it this early, so if you don't hear anything don't panic. Your baby's fine." Booth nodded and just a few seconds later a whooshing sound filled the room. Tears collected in their eyes and they gripped onto each other tighter.

"That's our baby, Bones," Booth said in wonder as he listened to the steady _clippity-clop _of his child's rapid heartbeat. Brennan just nodded and wiped away an errant tear.

"Hey, you okay?" Booth asked Brennan with concern as they prepared to leave a while later. She hadn't said anything since the ultrasound.

"Yes," she promised. "I just didn't expect to be so emotional. It's just a heartbeat."

"It's not _just _anything, Bones," Booth insisted. "It's proof we created a life. You and me. Before it was just words, but now it's real. It's normal to feel it."

"Did you?" she asked tentatively.

"Of course I did! I can't believe you didn't hear me practically sobbing back there!" Brennan chuckled and wiped away another tear.

"It's not rational, Booth. It's not even considered a fetus yet and I already love it more than I fully understand."

"Bones, I think that might be the most rational thing you've ever said." He kissed her sweetly and rested his forehead against hers. "Come on, you and Little Bones must be getting hungry."

"Please don't mention food," Brennan pleaded, feeling her stomach roll once more. She started for the door, but paused as she registered what Booth had called the baby. "Little Bones?" she questioned, giving him a sideways glance. He shrugged.

"I thought I'd give it a shot. It sure beats saying 'the baby' or 'it.'" Brennan rolled her eyes. Although she'd never admit it, the affectionate nickname made her heart swell for the man who was currently lacing his fingers between her own. "So, you don't want to eat. How about we go for a walk until you start feeling a little better?"

"That sounds nice," she agreed and rested her head on his shoulder.

**Thanks for reading and be sure to tell me what you thought! I love hearing from you!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you as always for your reviews, alerts, and favorites! Let's keep marching on!**

"Morning," Booth greeted Brennan cheerfully a few weeks later, making his way into her kitchen. She looked up at him with a smile and gave him a quick kiss, appreciating the fact that he was clad only in his boxers.

"Good morning." Booth opened the door to the fridge.

"You want some juice?" he called without turning around.

"Not right now," Brennan replied. Booth frowned and walked over to the kitchen table where she was diligently writing in a notebook.

"Bones, have you eaten breakfast?" Brennan looked up from her task and rolled her eyes at her boyfriend.

"I will." She sighed in exasperation when Booth's serious expression didn't change. "Stop it, Booth. I can and will take care of myself. I just want to finish this first." Booth's eyes left hers and traveled to the notebook on the table.

"What is it?"

"A list of things we have to do before the baby comes. I'm trying to put them in chronological order so we know what needs to be done first." Booth picked up the notebook and began thumbing through the several pages Brennan had already filled.

"You've planned out the whole pregnancy!" he exclaimed, although if he were being honest with himself, he wasn't all that surprised.

"It's important to have a plan, Booth," Brennan defended. "As you can see, I have left plenty of room for the schedule to change." Booth shook his head and smiled. His smile quickly faded, however, when he read the last thing she had added to the list.

"Hire a nanny?" he questioned incredulously. Brennan's brow wrinkled in confusion.

"Yes, I'll be far too preoccupied with new motherhood after the baby is born to make an informed decision about a proper caretaker. I will begin interviewing potential nannies a few weeks before my due date."

"Bones! Don't you think you should've talked to me about this first?" Brennan could tell Booth was getting upset, but couldn't fathom why.

"Talked about what, Booth? Surely you don't expect me to become a stay-at-home mother after this baby comes? I'm willing to give up many things for this child, but my career is most definitely _not _one of them!" Booth shook his head vehemently.

"No, it's not that Bones! I know you're gonna go back to work after your maternity leave. I just… didn't think we'd need a nanny."

"What do you propose we do? Take the child with us into the field? We need someone to watch him or her while we're at work."

"Yeah, I know. I just don't want a nanny, okay? I thought we'd just have someone we know and trust watch the baby during the day." Brennan shrugged and chuckled humorlessly.

"Who?" Booth mirrored her shrug.

"I don't know! What about Max?"

"Booth, I don't even know where my father_ is_ the majority of the time. I doubt I could get him to move to DC to become a full-time babysitter." Brennan's eyes widened as realization dawned on her. "This is about wealth, isn't it?"

"What? No!" Booth insisted. "I just don't want some stranger watching our baby!"

"There are extremely reputable nanny agencies that do thorough background checks and I'm certain that even you and I could eventually find someone we both agree upon. And we can install cameras in order to feel secure. That isn't the issue here. You've always had an irrational dislike for wealthy people, Booth. Having a nanny is something 'rich' people do, and you can't stand the fact that your child is going to have one!" Booth knew that Brennan was ten weeks along and in the throes of fluctuating hormones and he should probably just keep his mouth shut, but he couldn't help it and the words just came out.

"Okay, maybe I do hate it! Maybe I hate the fact that my girlfriend and the mother of my child makes more money than I do! Maybe I hate that I'm not going to be supporting my family! I can't stand it!" Brennan opened her mouth to speak, but Booth just kept going. "And don't go into some squinty tirade about alpha male tendencies! That's how I feel, and I can't change it!"

"Well that's the way it is, Booth! I make a seven figure yearly income and I'm certainly not going to take a lower level position or stop writing just so you can feel good about yourself!"

"I never asked you to do that!" Booth retorted, now in a full-on screaming match.

"Then what, Booth?" Brennan was standing now, just inches from his face. "Obviously this is a problem in our relationship that we can't solve. I'm not going to make less money and you're unlikely to ever earn as much as I do…" Booth growled at the insult that he knew was mostly unintentional. Sometimes he hated how she could make him feel like crap without even realizing it. "So how do we deal with it?"

"I… I don't know, Bones," Booth answered honestly before walking to her bedroom to gather his clothes. He slipped on his pants and shoes then walked deliberately to the door, his shirt in hand.

"Where are you going?" Brennan asked fearfully.

"To my place," he answered curtly before slamming the apartment door behind him. It took everything Brennan had not to collapse on the couch in a hormone-induced cry fest. She wiped away any tears that managed to escape angrily and returned to her task of making her list.

**-BONES-**

Booth sat on his couch in front of the game, fuming. Was it so bad for a guy to want to take care of his family? He always knew that Brennan made way more than he did, but he never realized how much it would bother him once they got together. He sighed when he heard his ringtone for her for the third time since he got home. He knew he was being petty, but she could just sit and wait a while for him to cool off. He practically growled when he heard the chime that indicated he had a text message. He reluctantly grabbed his phone off the coffee table and opened the text. What he saw made his mouth go dry and his heart pound wildly in his chest.

**Need to go to the hospital. Will call an ambulance if you don't respond.**

Booth was out the door in less than a second, dialing her frantically. "Bones!" he exclaimed when she picked up. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"I… I'm bleeding," was her soft, terrified reply.

"Did you cut yourself?" He was already at his SUV and he flung the door open.

"No… No, not that kind of bleeding. I went to the bathroom and…" Booth's throat constricted as he registered what she meant.

"Okay… Okay…" he tried to calm himself down. "Are you in pain?"

"Yes," Brennan whimpered and Booth heard her sniffle. He started the engine and tore out of the parking lot, siren blaring. "I'm experiencing severe abdominal cramps. Booth…"

"Don't worry, Baby," he attempted to reassure her. "Everything's gonna be okay. I'm already on my way and I have the siren on. Just keep talking to me."

"Booth, I'm… I'm sorry." Booth shook his head.

"For what, Baby?" he asked gently before nearly running another car off the road in his blind terror.

"For the fight."

"No, I'm sorry," he insisted. "It doesn't matter now anyway. We can talk about it later, okay?"

"You're angry with me," she said with tears in her voice. Whether she was crying out of pain or because she believed he was mad at her, Booth wasn't sure.

"No, I'm not. I swear, Bones. Let's just focus on getting you to the emergency room right now, okay? We can talk about this later."

"I'm still sorry, Booth." Booth nearly smiled at the sincerity in her voice.

"I am too. I'm almost there, okay? I'll be there in less than a minute."

"If you're being accurate, that's extremely unsafe, Booth. You would have to be going at least ten miles over the speed limit." This time Booth did smile.

"I'm almost there," he repeated and continued to speed through the streets of DC, praying all the way.

**Our first cliffhanger! Let me know what you thought, good or bad!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Wow! The response just keeps getting better and better! Thank you so much for all your reviews, alerts, and favorites! Let's keep going!**

_"I want to go with her!" Booth yelled, watching helplessly as Brennan was wheeled away from him._

_"Booth!" Her voice sounded distant, and he wanted so badly to go to her. To hold her hand and tell her everything was going to be okay._

_"Bones!" He tried to push past the doctor who was blocking his path, but the doctor gave him a violent shove backwards. "Please! I have to be with her! Bones!"_

_"Booth!" Her voice was even fainter than before, and panic began rising in Booth's chest. He couldn't see her anymore. He felt tears stinging his eyes and he tried moving past the doctor again._

_"You can't go with her!" the doctor insisted, giving Booth another hefty shove backwards._

_"I have to!" he protested. "I have to go with her! I love her!" Suddenly, another doctor approached and took him by the arm._

_"Sir, I'm sorry. We did everything we could. But we couldn't save the baby," the new doctor told him soberly. The world began to spin around him and Booth collapsed into a nearby chair, burying his head in his hands._

_"No, the baby's okay. It's okay! Check again!" The doctors both shook their heads sadly and turned to leave. Booth stood and ran after them. "No! Check again!" he demanded forcefully, but the doctors didn't acknowledge him. They kept walking swiftly down the long hallway, their eyes fixed straight ahead. "Check again!" The doctors were long gone, but he just kept yelling into the now empty hospital. "Check again! The baby's okay! You made a mistake!"_

"Booth?" Brennan called with concern. He was sleeping peacefully at her bedside and she had begun dozing herself when she heard him mumbling in his sleep. "Booth?" She touched his arm tenderly, but it had no effect. "Booth, you're dreaming." She shook him a little harder and his eyes finally flew open. He looked around frantically for a moment before his eyes settled on Brennan.

"Bones?" His voice held confusion and Brennan ran her fingers through his hair in comfort.

"You were having a nightmare," she explained. Booth nodded and surveyed his surroundings. He was disoriented and couldn't quite remember why he wasn't in one of their apartments. Then it all came rushing back. "What did the doctor say about the baby?" he asked and Brennan's face contorted in confusion.

"You were standing right there," she told him incredulously. Booth took a deep breath, still having trouble separating reality and his dream.

"Yeah, I know. Just… refresh my memory?" Brennan still looked unsure, but didn't hesitate to do what he asked.

"He said that the baby is unharmed, but they can't discern the cause of my bleeding and cramping. They're keeping me overnight to run some tests. If everything goes well I should be discharged tomorrow afternoon." Booth nodded. He was a little more awake now and much less confused. The dream had felt so real.

"Right," Booth said, still a little out of breath.

"Booth, are you alright?" Brennan asked with concern. "The fetus and I aren't in any danger. The overnight stay is simply precautionary."

"I know, I just… You really scared me today, Bones." Brennan looked away from him guiltily.

"That wasn't my intention." Booth laced his fingers between hers and squeeze in reassurance.

"I know you didn't mean to, Bones. I just can't help it. Ever since you told me you were pregnant I can't stop thinking about you. What if the baby got sick and we couldn't help it? What if we go to a crime scene and there's some chemical there that causes birth defects? It's driving me crazy, Bones."

"You already had an extreme desire to keep me protected before I was carrying your offspring," Brennan reasoned. "Anthropologically it makes sense that those feelings would become more intense because I'm having your progeny."

"Look, I've been thinking…" Booth began, ignoring her statement. He hesitated, not sure if he really wanted to put this idea out there right now. He went against every instinct he had and kept talking. "I think we should move in together." Brennan's response was immediate.

"We've only been dating for two months, Booth. You asked Hannah to move in with you just a week after she moved to DC and that didn't seem to work out in your favor." Booth smiled and placed a hand on Brennan's belly.

"From where I stand, it worked out perfectly." The couple shared a tender look before Booth continued. "Bones, when I got your text message, my heart stopped. The drive to your place was the longest five minutes of my life. If we lived together… I would have been there."

"You weren't there because you were angry," Brennan pointed out. "You left to get away from me."

"Yeah, well, if we lived together I wouldn't have anywhere to run when I got mad."

"You could go to the shooting range, or to Founding Fathers, or…"

"Okay, okay," Booth cut her off. "Forget about that. New angle. I want you to live with me because I love you and plan to spend the rest of my life with you. Besides, we've known each other for over seven years. It's not like we need time to get to know each other. I don't understand what we're waiting for." Brennan's expression became serious as she considered his words.

"I accept your logic," she said finally. "We have to discuss where we will reside, but that can wait until the morning." Booth chuckled. "You know, I can think of another benefit of our moving in together." Booth brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

"Yeah?" he asked between kisses. "What's that?"

"It will be less of a shock to our friends and co-workers when we tell them that I'm pregnant in three weeks if they already know we're sharing a domicile." Booth laughed.

"True, we might avoid a few heart attacks that way." He yawned widely and stretched. "What time is it?"

"It's nearly three in the morning. We should try to get some more sleep." Booth nodded in agreement, gave Brennan a quick goodnight kiss, and settled himself in the cot the nurse had set up for him. After several minutes of silence, Booth heard Brennan's voice in the darkness. "Booth?"

"Yeah, Bones?" he answered groggily.

"I can't sleep." Booth was instantly on alert.

"You're not in pain, are you?" he asked frantically, already inching toward the nurse call button.

"No, I'm fine," she rushed to assure him. "But… would you sleep next to me?" Booth stood up and walked to her bed.

"You sure there's enough room?" Brennan nodded and folded the corner of her blanket down in invitation. Booth hesitated only a second before sliding in next to her and draping his arm over her torso.

"Much better," she appraised before snuggling into his embrace and sighing contentedly. Booth traced his fingers lightly over Brennan's belly, which was just beginning to protrude over her waistline. He contemplated how much his life had changed in the last month, and how he wouldn't change a second of it. Smiling, he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

**I know I haven't posted in a few days, but life has been crazy! I hope it was worth the wait! Tell me what you thought!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you as always for the reviews, alerts, and favorites! As we march along…**

"That's it!" Booth announced. "We are officially moved in!" The pair of them had argued for a week about which of their apartments to move into, and in the end had decided to just a rent a place together.

"And only a week after we started living here!" Brennan teased. Booth chuckled and unceremoniously dropped the box he was holding on the floor. "Booth!" Brennan protested, opening the box to assess the damage. "These are priceless artifacts!"

"Well then you should've written 'super valuable, one of a kind artifacts: do not drop' on the side of the box!" Brennan glared at her now-live-in boyfriend and stood up.

"I should have just brought my own things into the apartment. That way you couldn't break them."

"You kidding, Bones?" Booth replied, touching her tiny baby bump affectionately. "And make Little Bones here do the heavy lifting?" Brennan huffed indignantly but didn't argue. "So, you're officially in the second trimester now, huh?"

"Yes, as of yesterday," Brennan confirmed, placing her hand over his on her stomach.

"That's when we agreed we'd start telling people, right?" Brennan nodded and crouched again to empty the contents of the box.

"We don't really have much of a choice anyway," she pointed out. "I'm already starting to show."

"Not that much," Booth promised. "Your little baby bump is cute."

"Thank you. But that doesn't change the fact that people are going to start to notice." She placed one of her unidentifiable knick-knacks on the fireplace mantle while taking down one of Booth's things to make room.

"Hey! Who died and made you queen of the fireplace?" he whined, snatching his baseball from her hand.

"Booth, we've lived in this apartment for a week and it's already overrun with your useless junk. I have things I want to display as well!"

"Junk?" Booth repeated incredulously. "Bones, this baseball is not _junk_. This is a real Phillies foul ball. And I caught it. During the 2008 season."

"You say that as if it has some sort of significance." Booth sighed in frustration and ran his fingers through his hair.

"That's because it does have significance! The Phillies won the World Series that year!" Brennan's expression was unchanged.

"But you didn't go to that World Series, correct?" Booth clenched his teeth and bit back his smart aleck response. He tried to remember that she was genuinely asking a question and not just pushing his buttons on purpose.

"No, I didn't. But don't you get it? I caught it and then two months later they won the Series!" Brennan nodded as she began to understand.

"And you believe that the two events were somehow connected."

"Yes!" Booth exclaimed. "It's my lucky ball. As long as I keep it on display, the team has a winning season." Brennan shook her head.

"But they haven't won the Series Bowl since then, have they?"

"World Series, Bones." He couldn't fight the smile her mistake caused to spread across his lips. "No, they haven't. But they won the division last year and they're number one in the National League this season. Besides, what's that thing you hijacked my baseball for, anyway?"

"It's an African fertility idol." Booth laughed.

"I don't think we need one of those, Bones." He looked pointedly at her slightly rounded belly. Brennan rolled her eyes. Booth laughed again, then checked his watch and grunted.

"I'm late. I have to go pick up Parker." Brennan still wasn't very good at reading people, but she had become quite adept at reading Booth over the years, and she was definitely reading something now.

"What's wrong?" she asked, putting a soft hand on his arm.

"I just want him to like it here," Booth admitted, turning back toward her.

"He does," Brennan assured him. "He was with us when we made the final decision about the apartment. He adores his new room. He has said on numerous occasions that it's 'awesome' that we moved into a larger place." Brennan's brow wrinkled as a thought occurred to her. "Has he expressed displeasure at the two of us living together?"

"No, Bones!" Booth rushed to comfort her. "He loves you. You saw how happy he was when we told him that we're together now. He's been waiting for this since he was four."

"Then what is it?"

"I don't know. Just… with the baby and everything… You don't think things are changing too fast for him?"

"I'm not the one to whom you should ask that question," Brennan admitted. "Booth, I thought we would tell him about the baby this weekend. I thought he deserved to be the first to know. Other than Hodgins and Angela, I mean. But if you would like to wait…"

"I don't know, Bones. Can we talk about this when I come back?" Brennan nodded and Booth gave her a lingering kiss. "I love you." Brennan's eyes lit up, as they always did when he voiced those words.

"What was that for?" Booth shrugged.

"Just take it and say 'I love you too,' okay?" he teased lightly. Brennan smiled.

"I love you too." Booth winked at her and walked out of the apartment.

**-BONES-**

"So, Parker," Booth addressed his son as the three of them ate their pizza dinner later that night. "Is the apartment as good to live in as it was to walk through?"

"Yeah," Parker agreed readily. "It's really big and my room is awesome!" Booth and Brennan both grinned at the boy's approval. "Plus you guys have a really big TV. Way bigger than the one Mom and Brent have." Booth gave Brennan a teasing look. The TV was just one of the many purchases she had disapproved of.

"What are your feelings concerning my living here with your father?" Brennan asked bluntly. Booth sighed. Never one to beat around the bush, his Bones.

"I think it's totally cool," Parker answered honestly. "Now you get to be Dad's real girlfriend instead of just his pretend one."

"Pretend one?" Booth repeated. Parker nodded enthusiastically.

"That's what you were before, right? I mean you acted like boyfriend and girlfriend. You just didn't call it that." Booth shook his head. Out of the mouths of babes. Brennan smiled in relief and stood.

"Are you finished, Parker?" she asked and picked up his empty plate at his nod. "Booth?" Booth stood and rounded the table, taking the plates from Brennan's hand.

"I got it, Bones," he said. "You go ahead and go. Me and Parker have this covered. Right, Bub?"

"Right!" Parker agreed. Brennan kissed Booth quickly in thanks and moved toward the living room, unconsciously placing her hand to her abdomen as she walked. Parker joined Booth at the sink and began rinsing his plate.

The next words out of Parker's mouth practically knocked Booth to the floor. "Dad? Is Bones having a baby?"

**As always, tell me what you thought!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you as always! I'm absolutely exhausted today so please forgive any mistakes. :P On we go…**

_ "Dad, is Bones having a baby?"_

Booth stared at his son in stunned silence for a solid five seconds before his brain started functioning again. "What… What makes you say that?" he finally asked. Parker shrugged and continued washing his plate nonchalantly.

"Last time I came over you guys were watching TV after I went to bed. I got up to get a drink and I saw you rubbing her stomach. Then Bones did it just now. Plus she's a lot fatter than the last time I saw her."

"Hey, don't say things like that," Booth scolded gently. "Park… it looks like we need to have a talk. Come on, we'll go find Bones and talk about this together, okay?" Parker nodded and followed his father to the living room. They found Brennan sitting on the couch with her laptop. "Bones? Parker has something he'd like to ask us." Brennan looked up from her task and took in the serious look on Booth's face. She saved her document and closed her laptop, placing it on the coffee table in front of her. Booth took a seat next to her while Parker sat in the armchair facing them.

"Are you guys having a baby?" Parker asked when everyone was settled. Brennan looked to Booth and he gave her an encouraging nod.

"Yes, Parker," she confirmed. Parker bit his lower lip and considered the news.

"Are you okay with that?" Booth asked nervously, taking the hand Brennan was offering him. Parker was silent for a few more seconds before he nodded slowly.

"Yeah," he said, forcing a smile. "That's really cool. I'm gonna go play videogames now, okay?" Parker got up and started walking toward his room. Booth left Brennan's side and put a firm hand on his son's shoulder.

"Parker, are you sure you're okay?" Parker started to respond, but hesitated. He stole a glance in Brennan's direction and leaned in to whisper to his dad.

"Can we talk? Just me and you?" Booth nodded and followed Parker to his room.

"What's up?" Booth said as he sat on Parker's bed. Parker shifted his weight nervously and Booth didn't miss his concerned expression. "Hey, you can say anything to me, okay?" he promised. "It won't hurt my feelings. I want to know what you think about all this. It's a pretty big change."

"I do think it's cool," Parker promised. "I mean I'll get to have a little brother or sister. I think that's awesome. But…"

"What?" Booth encouraged.

"Well… you live with Bones. That means the baby will get to live with you every day." Booth nodded in understanding. "Is it gonna be different when the baby comes? Because then you'll have an all the time kid and I'm just your sometimes kid."

"Hey, come here." Booth extended a hand that Parker took. He pulled his son close and looked him in the eyes. "You are not my 'sometimes kid.' You're always my kid. No matter where you are, okay?" Parker nodded. "And yeah, it'll be a little different because the baby will live here," he admitted. "But I will _not _love this baby more than you. I'll love you both exactly the same. You'll both be my 'all the time' kids, alright?" Parker smiled genuinely and wrapped Booth in a tight hug.

"Dad?" Parker began when they let go. "I wish I could live here all the time. Then I could be with you and Bones and my little brother or sister every day. Then we could be a real family."

"Park, we are a real family. I'd love to have you here all the time, you know that. But that's not how it works. I know it's tough sometimes, but I love you, your mom loves you, and Bones and Brent love you. Your little brother or sister is gonna love you too. That's a whole lot of people who care about you, right?"

"I guess," Parker agreed reluctantly.

"Your mom and I have tried to give you the best life we can, but we aren't together. And I know sometimes that means going through some things that are hard, but we all love you. And that's all that matters. As long as someone loves you, you have a real family. Okay?"

"I just miss you sometimes," Parker admitted quietly. Booth's heart broke for his little boy and he put a tender hand on his shoulder. "And now you're gonna have another kid so when I'm here it won't just be you and me anymore. We'll have to take them places too."

"I promise that even after the baby comes, we'll go do something every time you stay here. Just you and me." Parker's eyes lit up and a wide smile spread across his face.

"Really? Every weekend just like always?"

"Just like always," Booth promised emphatically. Parker pulled his father into another enthusiastic hug. Parker seemed to consider something for a second, then spoke.

"I'm glad you're having a baby with Bones," he said earnestly. "She smiles a lot now. I think you and the baby make her happy." Booth grinned.

"You make her happy too, Kiddo," he whispered to Parker as if it were a secret. "Come on, let's go watch a movie."

"Can I pick it?"

"Sure." Father and son walked back out to the living room. Parker went to pick out a DVD while Brennan approached Booth with worry etched on her face. "He's fine. He's happy," Booth assured her and watched her visibly relax. "He was just a little worried about being replaced. I think he's okay now. I hope he is."

"I'm sure he is," Brennan said definitively. "You're very good at talking to people, especially him. I'm confident that you were able to ease his irrational fears of being loved any less." Booth's heart swelled with love for the woman standing in front of him.

"You know, Bones, sometimes I still can't believe all of this is real," he told her, his voice thick with emotion. "That we live here together and we're having our Little Bones. If this is a dream, don't wake me up." Brennan rolled her eyes.

"Booth, even I know that was a line."

"Doesn't mean it's not true."

"You are a sentimental fool." Brennan smiled and turned to help Parker.

"But you love it, Baby!" Booth called after her.

"Don't call me Baby!"

**I'm a little nervous about how this chapter turned out. Let me know what you thought, honestly!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Sorry for the delay on this one! I had a bit of writer's block, but I think I'm past it now. Enjoy! :D**

Brennan answered her ringing cell phone the instant she heard it chime. "Did you get the call yet?" she asked anxiously. She frowned when the voice on the other end didn't match the one she expected. "Yes… No, I thought you were someone else. I apologize." She half-listened as her caller finished talking and hung up with a sigh.

"Well, Booth will be happy," Cam's voice said from her doorway. Brennan looked up with a quizzical expression.

"About what?" she asked her boss. Cam shrugged and walked into the office.

"Since the two of you are temporarily suspended you won't be examining any super dangerous remains for a while. Booth'll like that the little one is safe and sound for now." Brennan chuckled. Their family and friends were happy, albeit a little shocked, about the pregnancy. Even Max had reacted positively to the news, much to Booth's relief.

"It shouldn't take this long to review a simple psychological evaluation and a few files," Brennan complained for the hundredth time. "What could they possibly be deliberating about? It's clear that Booth and I have one of the highest solve rates in the entire bureau. The fact that we're living together and having a child wouldn't change that. And Sweets assured us that he recommended we stay together." Brennan took a deep breath and Cam smiled to herself.

"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd say you were a little nervous about this." Brennan didn't reply and instead pretended to write something of upmost importance on the paper in front of her. Cam's smile grew and she left the office.

Brennan's phone rang again, and this time she took the extra half a second to look at the name before answering. "Booth!" she exclaimed when she put it to her ear. "Did you hear something?"

"Not yet, Bones," Booth replied gently. "I just called to ask you to lunch. This is the first work day we've spent apart in a long time and I miss you." A warm smile spread across Brennan's lips and she relaxed for the first time that morning.

"Sure. Pick me up at noon?"

"It's a date," Booth agreed.

"Can't you find out what's taking so long?" Brennan asked after a moment's pause. "We were told that we would find out this weekend. It's Monday morning." Booth chuckled at his girlfriend's anxiousness.

"I'll ask around," he promised. "We'll find out soon, though. And there's no reason for them to split us up. They can't afford to lose us. And I made it clear that if we're not together, you won't be interested in working with another FBI guy. They won't risk losing the Jeffersonian."

"I hope you're right." Brennan shifted in her chair and gasped when she felt a strange fluttering in her abdomen.

"What?" Booth asked hurriedly when he heard her sharp intake of breath. "Bones? Are you okay? What happened?"

"Booth, slow down," she scolded him gently. "I… I think I just experienced quickening. Although it could have been gas."

"Quickening… isn't that when the baby moves?" Booth asked with wonder in his voice. Brennan placed a hand on her stomach and rubbed it softly.

"Yes," she answered with the same wonder. She laughed happily when she felt the sensation again, this time a little stronger. "I can't be sure that it was quickening, Booth. In fact it's a little early for me to be feeling anything. It might not be the fetus at all."

"Well don't count out the possibility," Booth joked. "This is your kid we're talking about. She might as well be an overachiever from the get go, right?"

"She?" Brennan questioned.

"I have dreams," Booth admitted. "The dreams are always different, but the baby is _always _a girl."

"You have these dreams often?"

"Yeah. Almost every night. Why?"

"It isn't uncommon for women to have frequent and odd dreams during pregnancy," Brennan pointed out. "Do you think you're experiencing couvade syndrome?"

"What's that?" Booth asked, resting his elbows on his desk.

"The common name for the phenomenon is a sympathetic pregnancy. You have gained some weight in recent weeks and you've complained of back pain several times over the last few days."

"I am not acting pregnant!" Booth insisted in a tone that made Brennan laugh. "I've always had a bad back and they're just dreams. And my weight is fine!"

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Booth! In fact, men who experience couvade syndrome usually have a very deep emotional connection with their partner. It's actually quite sweet."

"That sounded like psychology, Dr. Brennan," Booth teased. "I gotta go," he announced reluctantly. "I'll see you at noon?"

"Yes. Perhaps you should try to get to the gym this evening. Baby weight isn't very flattering on you."

"Okay, that's enough. I'll see you in a couple hours. Bye, Baby."

"Don't-" Brennan growled when she heard the line go dead. She hit the end call button on her phone and tossed it on the desk.

**-BONES-**

"Did you hear something?" Brennan asked without preamble when Booth called back an hour later.

"No," Booth told her. "Sorry, Bones. I just called to tell you that I have a suspect to interrogate and I can't make lunch."

"Oh, okay." Booth didn't miss the disappointment in Brennan's voice. "I miss working with you."

"You and me both, Babe." Brennan huffed indignantly.

"Don't call me-"

"Yeah, yeah, don't call you Babe," Booth finished for her with a smile. "You better get used to it. I finally have something that bugs you more than calling you Bones did. When you started liking Bones I didn't have any ammo for years. There's no way I'm giving this up." There was silence on the line that dragged on for far too long. "It's gonna be okay," Booth promised yet again.

"I want very much to believe you," Brennan answered honestly. Booth's office phone started to ring and he grinned.

"That's probably them calling right now. I'll call you as soon as I have news. Love you." He hung up just after hearing Brennan's 'love you too' and picked up his office phone. "Booth." The caller was certainly not who he expected.

"Seeley. It's nice to hear your voice. I'd love to catch up but I have something important I need to talk to you about and I think it'd be best if I said it in person. Is there somewhere we can meet?" Booth sat in stunned silence for a full minute before he found his voice. His brain would only allow him to mutter one word.

"Dad?"

**As always, tell me what you thought!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry that it's been a while! But I hope it's worth the wait! On we go…**

"What's wrong?" Brennan asked as she and Booth settled in for bed that night. He rolled his head to look at her and gave an apologetic smile.

"Just thinking," he answered curtly and planted a chaste kiss on her lips.

"The bureau isn't severing our partnership," she told him as if he didn't already know. "I don't understand why you aren't reacting positively to the news. Do you… Would you rather not be my partner anymore?"

"What? No! Why would you even _think _that?" Brennan shrugged and Booth pulled her closer to him.

"I couldn't come up with any other reasonable conclusions. You called to tell me that they were keeping our partnership intact, but your tone suggested you weren't thrilled with the outcome. You barely talked to me during lunch, and you practically refused to have sex with me tonight. What else could I possibly think?"

"Bones, this has nothing to do with us being partners, okay?" Brennan's eyebrows knit together as she tried to process whether or not he was telling the truth.

"Did I do something wrong?" Booth's eyes widened at the apprehension and insecurity in her voice and rushed to correct her.

"No, no, this has nothing to do with us." Brennan nodded, accepting that he wasn't lying.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Booth smiled. She was being so sincere with him, trying so hard to be a good girlfriend, domestic partner, whatever she wanted to call it. He took a deep breath.

"I got a call about ten minutes before Hacker told me that we get to keep being partners," he began, grasping her hand tightly. "It… It was my dad." Brennan remained silent, but her eyes bore into his with concern as she waited for him to continue. "He said he wanted to meet somewhere and he had something important to talk to me about. He gave me his number at some hotel in case I decide I want to talk to him."

"Are you going to?" Booth shrugged and rested his forehead on hers.

"He sounded… different," he decided to say after a long moment of silence. "I've never heard him like that. Not even when he was on a sobriety kick. He sounded, I don't know… scared. But I don't know if that's just an act to get me to talk to him or what."

"Well," Brennan ventured cautiously, "you once told me that if you had the opportunity to speak to your father again, you would." Booth's eyes narrowed. He didn't remember ever saying anything like that, but if she said so, it must have happened sometime. "I reconciled with my father. And as far as I know, yours never killed anyone." Booth shook his head.

"It's not the same, Bones. Max loves you. My old man… He didn't love anything but himself and that bottle."

"You have stated that he was quite affectionate when he was sober. If he treated you kindly then… he must have loved you to some degree."

"Yeah, well, not enough to give it up for good." The words came out a little more harshly than he intended and Brennan bit her lip anxiously.

"I'm sorry," she told him softly.

"No," Booth insisted, "I'm sorry. It's just… He knew how he treated us. He knew what he did when he got drunk, but it didn't matter to him. If I knew something I was doing was hurting you or Parker, I'd stop. No matter what it was. Nothing is worth hurting any of you." He put his hand on Brennan's slightly rounded belly to drive his point home. "I guess that's how I always felt when he'd start drinking again after quitting for a couple weeks. That I wasn't enough. No matter how much fun we had, or how good of a kid I was, nothing I did was ever enough to keep him from drinking again."

"Booth, it wasn't your fault." Booth smiled in thanks and brought Brennan's knuckles to his lips.

"I know," he promised. "And I guess I knew it then too. Doesn't mean it didn't feel that way."

"May I offer my biased and grossly uninformed opinion?" Booth chuckled and granted permission. "I think there's a lot unsaid between you and your father. Whether talking means coming to some sort of mutual understanding or a complete cut of all ties, I believe you'll be better off if you speak to him." Booth considered her words and nodded.

"You might be right. I just don't know what I would say. Just thinking about him I get so angry I can't see straight. When I was younger it pissed me off, but… now that I have Parker and you and this baby on the way… I just can't understand how a man could do what he did to his own kids. And to my mother. And what I hate the most is that I can see so much of him in myself." He took a ragged breath as he struggled to keep the tears from falling. "I'm nervous, Bones."

"It's natural to be," Brennan agreed readily. "You haven't spoken to your father in over 20 years." Booth shook his head and looked her in the eyes.

"Not about my dad," he explained. "About the baby."

"The baby?" Brennan repeated, confused. Booth hesitated to find the right words to explain himself.

"Rebecca's always telling me that Parker likes coming here because it's a vacation. And at least partly… she's right. I don't really discipline Parker. He does his homework Sunday night after Rebecca takes him home. I clean his room for him. I'm just so happy to be with him that most of the time I act more like his friend than his dad. When the baby comes, I'm gonna be a full-time father. I'm gonna be there for everything. The good times and the bad. I've never done that before. What if… What if I'm like him? What if I'm no good at it when I'm there every single day?" Tears welled in Brennan's eyes. Ever since she first found out she was pregnant she'd been afraid of being a bad parent. Knowing Booth felt the same way was strangely reassuring.

"You're an excellent father," she assured him. "I've seen you be much more than just a friend to Parker on many occasions. You're most definitely his father, both in name and in practice. He is very fortunate to have you, and our child will be as well." Booth leaned forward and gave Brennan a sweet, lingering kiss.

"Thanks, Bones," he said, his voice thick.

"No need to thank me," she insisted. "Do you think you'll call your father in the morning?" Booth nodded slowly.

"Yeah. I think I will." He gave Brennan another kiss.

"I could go with you," she offered.

"No," Booth refused gently. "This is something I have to do alone." With that, he snuggled up next to Brennan and attempted to fall asleep.

**Okay, so I hope this nice, long B and B talk was worth the wait! As always, tell me what you thought!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Again sorry for the delay and as always thank you for the wonderful response this story continues to get! One we go…**

Even though it had been over 20 years, it didn't take Booth long to recognize his father among the dozens of other people in the room. His stomach clenched as he realized that he had no idea what to say to this man. What on earth was he doing here?

His dad locked eyes with him. There was no turning back now. He took a deep breath and slid into the seat across from the aged version of himself. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you wanted to meet at a bar," he quipped before he could stop himself.

"Nice to see you too, Seeley." Booth gritted his teeth at the sound of his voice and shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Alright, let's just get this over with. What was so important you couldn't tell me over the phone?"

"I'm dying, Seeley," his father said without preamble. Booth shook his head and laughed humorlessly.

"This is something you could've told me over the phone." Booth shocked himself with his words, but he couldn't deny their truth. "You never had to tell me anything. I never would've known the difference. So why are you here? What do you want?"

"I'm dying," he repeated as if this was the answer Booth was looking for. "I want to spend time with my son before my number's up. Is that so hard to believe?"

"So you just want some quality time before you kick the bucket? Well, I'm touched," Booth bit sarcastically. "It won't be anything like when I was growing up, though, Dad," Booth warned in a voice filled with years of pent-up hatred. "I'm not a kid anymore. I'm not very much fun to knock around these days, because now I hit back."

"I'm a changed man, Seeley." The older man pulled something out of his pocket and slid it across the table. Booth recognized it almost instantly, having a similar one himself, albeit for a different accomplishment.

"A five year chip?"

"And I got that three years ago. I haven't had a drop to drink in eight years."

"Yeah, I can do the math. So, what? You think you can just show up after not hearing from you for half my life, announce that you've been sober for a few years, and expect a fucking welcome wagon?"

"Of course not. But I want to get to know you, Seeley. And your family. I want to meet my grandson." Booth's eyes flashed with anger at the mention of Parker. "And I hear you have another kid on the way. If I'm lucky maybe I'll live long enough to meet my second grandchild too."

"How did you find out about them?" Booth asked in a dangerous voice, his eyes narrowed.

"You're a big shot at the FBI, son. I pay attention to the newspapers. I've spent the last ten years or so following your career. An article last week said you and your partner, that scientist, are having a baby."

"Don't talk about Bones," Booth warned in a low, serious voice. "Don't talk about our baby, and _don't_ talk about my son. You'll see them over my dead body. You lost your right to be part of my family a long time ago."

"Can't I earn it back?" The sincerity in his father's voice made Booth falter for just a second. "I don't know what I can do to prove to you that I'm a changed man. I want to make things right before I die, Seeley. That's all. You don't have to forgive me, that's not what I'm asking for. I just want to get to know you. I wasn't a good father. I wasn't around when you got older, and I know that's my fault. I just want to know who you are before I'm gone." Booth studied his father's face.

"Have you talked to Jared?" he finally asked.

"Yeah." His father broke eye contact. "He doesn't want anything to do with me. You're all I've got left, Seeley." Booth shook his head in disbelief. Did he think he owed him something? Booth didn't owe this man a damn thing. But, if he were being honest with himself, there were things he wanted to ask him. Things he needed to get off his chest. And if he was really dying, he was running out of time.

"How long?"

"What?"

"How long do you have to live?" His father shrugged.

"The doctors say 4 to 6 months. It's my liver." Booth chuckled hollowly and shook his head again.

"I'm shocked."

"_Cancer_ in my liver," his father clarified. "But I'm sure I didn't do it any favors over the years. It's up to you, Seeley. I just want a chance to talk to you every once in a while." A thousand images flashed through Booth's mind at once. Getting a punch to the jaw for standing between his dad and younger brother. Getting his head slammed into the wall for not cleaning his room well enough. Being told he was a worthless piece of shit by his father on the day of his mother's funeral. Being lifted onto his father's shoulders when he couldn't see the parade. An affectionate pat on the shoulder after he helped build a new bookshelf. Standing with his father, his eyes full of wonder, cheering as the Phillies won the World Series.

"Give me a couple days to think about it," Booth finally said. "I'll call you." It was a promise, and one he intended to keep. He got up, suddenly consumed with an overwhelming desire to hold Brennan close and tell her how much he loved her. He knew he wasn't his father. He had known that for a long time, but he couldn't shake the feeling that staring at the older man was like looking in a mirror. In more ways than one.

**I** **had some trouble with this chapter, so I hope it turned out okay! As always, tell me what you think!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry it's been a long time since the last update! I had a case of writer's block you wouldn't believe! Thank you so much to va32h for getting me out of that hole! Thank you as always for the reviews, favorites, and alerts! Let's keep going…**

When Booth got home, the apartment was dark except for the glow of the TV. The screen displayed the menu of whatever DVD Brennan had been watching, the music looping every minute or so. Brennan was asleep on the couch, one arm curled under her head. Booth smiled. He was surprised to see her asleep at this early hour. Since entering her second trimester she had been enjoying her newfound energy.

Booth walked over to the hall closet and retrieved a blanket. He draped it over her sleeping form and planted a soft kiss to her forehead. She stirred when she felt his lips on her and her eyes fluttered open. She smiled when she saw him standing above her and reached up to touch his face. Booth turned his head and kissed her palm before gripping her hand tightly in his own. Brennan sat up and wordlessly pulled him toward her. He sat on the couch beside her and she draped the blanket over the two of them. He sighed and rested his head on her shoulder. She laced their fingers together and leaned her head against his. She smiled when she felt his free hand begin caressing her tiny baby bump affectionately.

She thought she was imagining things when she felt something wet seeping through the sleeve of her T-shirt a minute later. She glanced over at Booth and, sure enough, saw a tear trailing down his cheek. Brennan reached over and wiped it away, causing Booth to look up and lock eyes with her. He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips before resting his forehead against hers. He gasped quietly; not able to hold back the sob any longer. Now facing him, Brennan wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him close to her chest. Booth gripped onto her for dear life as sobs wracked his entire body. Brennan rubbed his back soothingly and planted small, sweet kisses to his neck and shoulder.

Booth cried. He cried for the little boy who never learned to let go of the guilt he felt. For the boy who was never told he was enough. That he was loved. That he mattered. He cried for the man who would never truly believe he was worthy of happiness. For the man who was terrified that his own children would never understand how deeply he loved them. And more than anything, he cried for the man who didn't know whether to forgive the father who had caused all of this.

Brennan couldn't take it anymore. The silence filled with only Booth's occasional gasping for air was making her crazy. "Booth?" she said, just to break the unending quiet.

"He's dying," Booth stated simply, sitting up and wiping his eyes dry.

"Is that why you're crying?" Brennan asked, pretty sure there was more than just that behind his tears.

"No. Yes. I don't know." Booth's arms wrapped around her midsection and he laid them both down on the couch. They didn't speak for the rest of the night, but Brennan lay awake for hours, listening to Booth's deep, uneven breaths.

**-BONES-**

They were awoken by the sound of knocking on their front door. Brennan stirred first, momentarily startled to find herself still lying on the couch. She was very near the edge, the only thing stopping her from rolling off being Booth's strong hold around her waist. She put her feet on the floor and gently pried his hand from her midsection. He groaned in his sleep and shifted slightly, but didn't wake up. Brennan padded over to the door and looked through the peep hole. Confused, she opened the door. "Dad? What are you doing here?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

Max gave his daughter a once over and glanced over to the couch, where Booth was just beginning to wake up. His brow wrinkled in confusion. "You guys having an afternoon cat nap or something?" Brennan glanced at a clock and realized that it was half past noon. She couldn't remember ever sleeping so late, not even as a child.

"Booth's father has re-entered his life suddenly after many years and he's having some difficulty with it. We didn't fall asleep until very late."

"Bones!" Booth exclaimed, now fully awake and making his way toward his pseudo father-in-law. Brennan gave him an apologetic look, but Booth waved off her concern. "Hey, Max. What brings you here?" he asked casually, hoping to skip the topic of his past altogether.

"Well, I missed the house warming party," he began, producing a small box wrapped in silver wrapping paper. He handed it to Booth with a wide, toothy grin. "So I thought I'd bring this by and welcome you to the family. Officially." Booth smiled in thanks and started to open the package.

"Max?" Booth questioned, holding up the contents of his present. The once bright yellow color had faded and you could just barely make out the outline of a teddy bear that was once printed on the side. Booth shook it and to his surprise, it was still functional.

"That was Tempe's favorite toy when she was a baby." He addressed his daughter. "You figured that thing out by the time you were two months old. You gripped that rattle in your tiny little fist and shook it with all you had and your eyes would just light up. I used to say it was your very first experiment. I thought you might like the baby to have it." Brennan took the rattle from Booth and looked it over carefully, remembering a particular photograph that used to hang in the upstairs hallway of her childhood home that depicted her at about six months old, holding the rattle above her head.

"Thank you, Dad," she managed to choke out through the tears that were forming in her eyes. Max gave her a tight hug and a kiss on the temple. "How do you still have this?"

"It was in the car when we…" He trailed off, not sure how to complete the sentence. "Anyway, we had been babysitting one of the neighbor kids the week before and let him play with it. I guess we just never brought it back in the house. Lucky break." Brennan smiled and shook the rattle, almost delighting in the familiar sound it made. "So, what's this about your old man, Booth?" he asked, his focus now on the younger man. Booth sighed. _Thanks for that one, Bones._

"That's really not any of your business, Max," Booth warned before sitting on the couch. Max shrugged.

"Maybe not, but take it from somebody's who's been on the other end of this kind of thing. Sometimes people do change. Sometimes all they need is a second chance. Isn't that what you told Tempe about me? And look how well that worked out."

"This is a little bit different, Max."

"Maybe. Maybe not. You won't know unless you give the guy a chance to talk." Max let his words hang in the air for a moment before clapping once, loudly. "Okay! I'm starving! Who wants some lunch? I'm buying!" Brennan smiled at her father and shook her head before heading toward the bedroom to change clothes. She was still clutching the rattle to her chest as she walked past. Booth glanced between the two of them, grinning at each other, and put his hand in his pocket, working the piece of paper with his father's number on it between his fingers.

**So there you have it! As always, tell me what you think!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Ah! This is still a thing apparently! Sorry for the massive delay, but life has been crazy and then I just plain got stuck. Anyway, enough excuses. On we go!**

Brennan walked into Angela's office the next morning to tell her that they were able to identify the latest victim from dental records and her facial reconstruction wouldn't be necessary. To say Brennan was happy Angela was back from her maternity leave was an understatement. Her replacement's work was sub-par and he and Brennan didn't get along personally. She and Hodgins had bonded over the fact that they both couldn't stand him and were counting down the days until Angela returned.

Angela had been back for three weeks now and things were finally returning to normal. She still called the babysitter at least six times a day to check on Michael, but that was unlikely to change anytime soon. Hodgins always gave her a hard time about calling every hour on the hour, until she discovered that he was calling ever hour on the half hour.

Brennan finished explaining the situation with the victim to Angela and turned to leave before stopping herself and turning back. "Angela?" she called to her friend cautiously.

"Yeah?" Angela replied, looking up from her work. She noted the look on Brennan's face and rounded her desk. "What's wrong?" Brennan hesitated a moment.

"Your mother isn't a part of your life, correct?" she finally said. Angela tried to ignore the familiar punched-in-the-gut feeling she got whenever someone mentioned her mother. She'd never told anyone any details of what had happened, except for Hodgins. She never really thought about how easily anyone could see that she never spoke about her mom.

"Right," she replied, swallowing the lump in her throat. Brennan nodded and bit her lip nervously. "What's going on, Sweetie?"

"My mother is dead." Angela thought back to the day over five years before when her best friend's mother was found in bone storage and almost chuckled despite herself.

"I know," she said, not entirely sure where this was going.

"You have a ten week old infant. How do you know what to do?" And just like that, it clicked in Angela's head.

"Oh Sweetie, I know it's not what you want to hear but honestly you just kind of… know."

"You sound like Booth," Brennan observed. "He's always telling me about maternal instincts and how I'll know exactly what to do after the baby's born. I know that there is an evolutionary predisposition for women to be fiercely protective of their offspring and I know that I love this baby, but it's also a tradition in our culture for a pregnant woman to bond with her mother and discuss child rearing and…"

"You want your mom," Angela concluded. Brennan nodded and wiped away a tear. She sniffled and looked at the ground. "There's no shame in that. I felt the same way when I was pregnant with Michael. But I found ways to deal. You can always come talk to me when you feel like you don't know what you're doing, okay?" she offered. Brennan smiled and met Angela's gaze.

"Michael will only be eight months older than my child. I don't think that is a sufficient age difference for me to consider you an expert on the subject." Angela laughed lightly.

"Fair enough. But I'll still have had a baby eight months longer than you." The friends shared another grin. "Have you talked to Booth about it?"

"Not about missing my mother."

"Why not?" Brennan shrugged and sat on Angela's couch.

"Because it's childish and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. He has enough on his mind now without worrying about something he can't change."

"Brennan, he's going to know something's wrong whether you tell him or not. You might as well just say what it is so he doesn't assume it's something worse." Brennan shook her head and stood.

"He won't notice," she said almost too quietly to be heard.

"What do you mean he won't notice?" Angela repeated incredulously. Brennan saw Booth's pain filled eyes two nights ago and heard his almost tortured sobs as she held him until they both gave into exhaustion and fell asleep. No, Booth was too consumed with his own problems right now to be concerned with her trivialities.

"He… he just won't notice."

"What brought this on in the first place?"

"Nothing," Brennan insisted. "It's… It's nothing. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up. It's just hormones. I'll be fine. I… I have to go." She turned on her heel and hurried out of the office. Angela followed her to the door and watched as she speed walked across the lab.

"Wait! Bren, wait!" she hollered after her to no avail.

Brennan reached her office in record time and closed the door behind her. She searched around frantically for something, anything to do to clear her head but came up empty. Cam had the remains until the flesh could be removed. She was completely caught up on her paperwork. She would have to walk past Angela's office to get to Limbo and she certainly didn't want to be asked a thousand questions about her odd behavior. So she just sat at her desk and fought the memories that threatened to drown her.

_At twelve Temperance Brennan had helped her mother clean out the attic. She came across a box filled with toys and clothes from her early childhood. "Why do you still have all this stuff, Mom?" she asked, holding the very rattle her father had given her and Booth the day before. Christine shrugged and took the rattle from her daughter._

_ "This was your favorite when you were a baby." She looked through the rest of the contents of the box and smiled. "It's nice to remember when you were that small. It all goes by so fast and I don't want to forget."_

_ "But everything is in the attic and you only ever go to the attic to clean it or move more things up here. If you really wanted a sentimental reminder then logically you should have these things downstairs, where you're more likely to see them." Christine smiled and put the rattle back then closed the box._

_ "Okay, smartypants." It was the only nickname she would be okay with until well into her adulthood, and the only person allowed to call her it was her mom. She was so used to nicknames being cruel and although the name was meant to tease her, it was nice to know that such things could also come from a place of love and affection. "Believe me, you'll thank me one day for keeping all this stuff when you have babies of your own." Christine chuckled at the look of distaste on her daughter's face, who was not yet interested in boys._

"Hey Bones," Brennan was snapped back to the present by the other nickname she had come to adore over the years.

"Hi," she greeted Booth with a forced smile. He walked to her desk and gave her a lingering kiss.

"Listen, I called my dad and invited him to dinner tonight. I want you to come with me." Brennan nodded.

"Of course I'll go with you," she told him sincerely. Booth smiled in thanks and gave her another kiss. "Booth, are you certain this is what you want?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. The least I can do is give the guy a chance, right? We're never gonna be buddies or anything like that but I figure we can be civil and put a lot of this crap behind us once and for all."

"That's… a very mature attitude," Brennan commented. Booth pulled her to her feet and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You sound surprised about that," he teased. She smiled weakly. Booth's expression became concerned and he tightened his hold on her. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she lied. She knew Booth didn't buy it, but she was glad to see that he seemed to know that she wanted the subject dropped.

"Okay. Well come on, lunch awaits!" He slung his arm around Brennan's shoulders and led her out of the office. Brennan smiled and this time it was genuine because, despite everything he was going through at the moment, he had noticed.

**So there ya go! As always, tell me what you thought!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Sorry for the delay! I've sort of been dreading this chapter and I hope I did it justice. Thank you Sam for everything! I should really just credit you as a co-writer on this one. :P I love you dearly! Here we go…**

Booth heard the doorbell ring and instantly regretted changing their plans. They were originally going to meet his father at a restaurant, but Brennan insisted that inviting him to their home was more personal and showed him that they were willing to make an effort. He took a breath to calm his nerves and opened the door. "Hey Dad, come in," he said in as cheerful a voice as he could muster, stepping aside to let his father in.

Booth's father walked across the threshold and his eyes landed on Brennan. He smiled and brought her hand to his lips for a chivalrous kiss. Every muscle in Booth's body tensed and he took an unconscious step toward them, as if ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. "You must be Temperance," his father said with a wide Booth smile. The smile that was so familiar to Brennan seemed eerily out of place on this man and she felt her skin crawl.

"Yes, I am," she told him matter-of-factly. An awkward moment's pause passed and Booth had to stifle a laugh.

"Well, you can call me Frank, pretty lady." Brennan removed her hand from his pointedly.

"And you can call me Temperance. Pretty lady is not my name." Without another word she turned and walked into the kitchen, leaving the two Booth men alone.

"You've got a pistol on your hands there, Seeley," Frank said when Brennan was gone.

"Yeah, well, Bones likes to speak her mind," Booth replied; suddenly feeling extremely vulnerable. Frank shook his head.

"I'll tell ya, son, things sure have changed from back in my day." Booth bit his tongue to stop a smart comeback and instead clapped his hands together loudly.

"So, you want the grand tour, Dad?"

"You've only lived here a few weeks?" Frank asked as they made their way to the living room.

"Yep, we moved so we'd have more room for the baby and Parker," Booth explained. A picture on the fireplace mantle caught Frank's eye and he picked it up.

"Is this Parker?" he asked, unable to tear his eyes away from the image of the smiling young boy. Booth snatched the picture from his father's hands.

"Yeah. That's him, me, and Bones a couple years ago."

"He's a fine looking boy, Son. He's got your eyes. Our eyes, I guess," Frank added with a smile. "I'd like to meet him someday. If that's alright with you."

"I…" Booth was suddenly at a loss for words. Frank smiled and waved off his concern.

"Hey, I don't want to screw this up. If you're not comfortable with me meeting him yet, that's okay. I'm gonna prove myself to you, Seeley. I don't care if it takes a while." Booth was trying to think of a response when he was rescued by Brennan entering the room.

"Dinner's ready," she told them. Booth gladly followed while Frank brought up the rear.

"So," Frank addressed Brennan once they were all settled in the dining room. "How far along are you?"

"Sixteen weeks," Brennan replied curtly.

"You're almost halfway there, then," Frank said with a smile. "I remember when my Arlene was pregnant with Seeley. We were young and had no idea what we were doing. I was deployed for most of the pregnancy and we were dirt poor. And then we had Jared three years later. We still didn't have any money; we could barely feed the one kid we already had. But you find a way to make it work. And it's all worth it in the end, right?" Booth shifted uncomfortably in his seat and Brennan couldn't stop herself from defending him.

"What part was worth it to you, exactly?" Brennan asked.

"What?" Booth eyed Brennan, urging her not to go on.

"You said that although you didn't have money and it was difficult, having children was worth it. I'm just curious what you think was worth it. Was it worth it to have children just so you could abuse them and eventually allow your own father to perform the duties you should have performed yourself?"

"Bones," Booth warned sharply.

"No, it's okay, Seeley," Frank insisted. "She's right. I made a lot of mistakes. I don't want to sit here and make excuses for them, but Seeley understands why things happened the way they did."

"I do?" Booth interjected incredulously.

"Come on, Seeley, you were in the war. You had a gambling addiction. You couldn't understand when you were a kid, but you do now. I'm sure your kid got the short end of the stick every once in a while, no matter how much you didn't mean it." His words shot straight through Booth's heart, and for a moment he couldn't breathe. Brennan's eyes met his, only breaking contact when Frank addressed her again. "I fought in Vietnam," he explained. "It's not easy to serve in any war, but Vietnam messed us all up. I got honorably discharged a couple months before Seeley was born. I had that… uh… that PTSD, you know? That's not what they called it but that's what it was. When I got home, that's when I started drinking. Then I lost Arlene and… Well like I said I don't wanna make excuses. I screwed up as a father, and now I wanna fix it."

"How did you know I had a gambling problem?" Booth asked lamely, unable to express any of the millions of thoughts rushing through his head at the moment.

"Making up for lost time, Seeley," was Frank's only answer. "I'll tell you what, no matter how long it's been since my last drink, I can still feel the itch. It won't ever go away completely. Well, you know all about that, Seel."

"I guess," Booth agreed sheepishly. Brennan had never heard her partner sound so much like a scared little boy.

"We gotta stick together," Frank concluded, taking another bite of his spaghetti. "No one's ever gonna understand you like I do, Seeley. I've been there." Frank's gaze was cold and steely and it chilled Brennan to the bone. She couldn't imagine what the familiar look must be doing to Booth.

"You're right, Dad," Booth agreed. Brennan shot him a look of surprise that he ignored.

"We need each other, Seeley," Frank went on in a low, dangerous tone. "We're both fathers trying to make up for the past. I think God wanted me to come back now for a reason, what with you having a new baby and everything. We can start over." Booth just nodded mutely. His form somehow seemed physically smaller in the presence of the older man. Unable to take it anymore, Brennan spoke up.

"Frank, can I speak to you in the other room for a minute?" she asked politely, not waiting for an answer to cross the dining room. Frank shrugged and followed.

"I know what you're doing," she warned him in a harsh whisper once they were out of Booth's earshot. "You think you can intimidate him into doing whatever you want, but you can't. He's not a child anymore. I don't know what you want from him but I can assure you, you won't be getting it. He did just fine before you came back and he'll be fine after you leave. He's strong. Stronger than you, and he won't be intimidated. And neither will I." Frank's eyes bore into Brennan's, nearly begging her to back down. Brennan stood her ground, the corners of her mouth curling up into a triumphant smile. "I'm not afraid of you, Frank. And I'd like you to leave. Now." Frank stared her down for a moment more before relenting.

"Fine." Frank walked purposely back to the door to the dining room and stuck his head in. "Seeley, I have to get going," he told his son quickly before turning on his heel and walking to the front door. Booth burst into the room behind him.

"What? Why?" Booth asked frantically. He was met with silence. Frank pulled on his jacket and looked at Brennan.

"It was lovely to meet you, Temperance. Congratulations again." With that, he opened the front door and walked into the warm, late July air.

"What did you do, Bones?" Booth accused through gritted teeth. "What did you say to him?"

"I told him to leave," Brennan informed him matter-of-factly.

"Why?"

"Why?" Brennan repeated incredulously. "He's using you, Booth! He's trying to intimidate you! I can't believe that I can see that and you can't!" Booth sighed and collapsed on the couch. He patted the cushion next to him in invitation and Brennan sat. He draped his arm over her shoulder.

"I can't just walk away from him, Bones. He's my dad, and he's dying." Brennan didn't have an answer for that. "He's right, you know. I'm like him."

"What?" Brennan sputtered. "No, Booth. You're not."

"I love that you believe that, Bones, I do. But you're wrong. I was just like him. I came home from the war and I let the gambling take over. I was weak. Maybe… Maybe I need him. This baby is gonna be different. He or she is gonna live with me, with us, every single day. And I'll be damned if I'm gonna fail."

"Booth, you shouldn't let him guilt you like this. What he said isn't true! You're a good father!" Brennan felt like he was slipping through his fingers, and she was grasping desperately to bring him back.

"Bones, he's right, okay? Just trust me on this. Parker…" He trailed off. "Yeah, I got over the gambling. But I still feel that side of me, Bones. I feel it inside and it kills me to know that part of me still exists. The part that would…" He trailed off again.

"Booth!" Brennan yelled his name, almost as a desperate plea. "He's only doing what he's done your whole life! He's convincing you that you're not worth anything! That without him you'd be nothing! But that isn't true, Booth. You know it isn't."

"Bones!" Booth shouted, his voice tinged with anger and frustration. "Just stop! I'm not who you think I am, okay?"

"Is this what he does to you, Booth? Is this what he did when you were younger? Make you believe these horrible things about yourself?"

"Bones, it's who I am. And he's the only one who understands it, because it's who he is too."

"Booth…"

"Bones." He took her hand in his and took a deep breath. "Once, when Parker was two years old, I went out to the pool hall. It was my weekend, Bones, and he was asleep in his crib. But I forgot he was there. All I could think about was going out to gamble. My two-year-old son is in the other room asleep. And I just left. I didn't realize it for over an hour." Brennan just stared, stunned into silence. "And I didn't stop gambling for over a year after that. Leaving my _son_ all alone for over an hour wasn't enough to scare me out of it. That part of me still exists, Bones. And I know it could always come back. That's what scares the hell out of me. So don't ever tell me I'm not like him."

**Phew! So this one was tough to write. Let me know what you thought, good or bad!**


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